I step out of Orchard Heights with a spring in my step.
My breath hitches when I see her.
She’s as stunning as always. She’s wearing a one piece white romper, wide pant legs flared over black stilettos, long golden hair and a designer handbag. Gold bracelets dance around her arm as she lifts her hand to her large rimmed summer hat. She’s wearing aviator glasses but I can still tell she’s not happy.
“Oh, hi there. Renee, is it?” I ask casually, but all the while, I worry I might pass out. My heart is beating so violently, I can barely think straight. What is she doing here? How does she know where I live? What does she want with me?
“Hello, Mischa.”
“Hello,” I reply, the word small. I can’t breathe.
“How are you?” she asks. She’s a femme fatale. Larger than life. I feel like an insignificant ugly little mouse next to her.
“Good…”
“I know you’ve been seeing my husband, Mischa,” she says, not mincing words.
“Uh…” God, I can’t do this. “Yeah, we work out together.”
“What’s your deal, Mischa?” she asks, her words measured. “Why are you stalking us?”
A sharp pain hits me in the chest. I’m at a complete loss. I’ve been caught.
“First, you come to the store and give me a fake name. Next thing, you’re all buddy-buddy with my husband.”
“I… I’m sorry.”
She reaches for her glasses and pulls them off. I see the sorrow in her eyes. She’s not as angry as I thought she was. She’s just very sad. “I know who you are, Mischa. And I think you know who I am too.”
We both know. We’re just not saying the words out loud. “You know my husband, Brian.”
“I do.”
“That party at Brian’s cousin’s…” my words trail off. I want to ask her if Brian is Ava’s father.
“Talk to your husband,” she says. “I think it’s time.”
“Yes, I think so too.”
“And stay away from Joel and my daughter,” she scoffs. “And get yourself a life.” And with that, she turns from me and leaves. It takes a few seconds to process her words.
What a bitch.
She’d been kind until those last words, but her true colors eventually came to the surface. Joel deserves better.
29
Iproceed with my plans just as if nothing had happened. I still head to Juliette’s studio and grin at the regulars. When Joel shoots me a wave, I wave back and feign a smile. I’m so angry, it’s crushing.
Yes, I’ve been obsessively stalking her and her family, but she didn’t have to be such a bitch about it. I have a problem — I can’t help it. Now, I want to march all the way to her shop and tell her off.
Even meditation doesn’t calm me down. Of course I could never do that. I don’t have the balls. Yet I still want revenge. I turn Joel down when he asks me to go for a smoothie, telling him I’m swamped with work.
* * *
As I gothrough the motions of making dinner for my family; Asian beef wraps and fried rice, I’m still seething. Her beautiful evil face clouds my brain. I fantasize about pulling that gorgeous hair of hers, pulling it out of her stupid head. Glasses clank and plates thump as I set them on the table.
Thankfully, this is one of the boys’ favorite meals, and they eagerly eat it up. It always brings a smile to my face when they eat my dinner enthusiastically. Yet, I’m still sullen.
